"Lately, I've been feeling more and more that life is filled with endless possibilities."
If there existed a possible future where Narumi Tōru became a novelist, then perhaps there also existed possibilities where he could become someone like Kashiwagi Eri—or even Guitar Hero.
"Even if unknown possibilities represent fear, they're also accompanied by wonder. Sometimes I feel that's one of the reasons we're able to wake up every morning at all."
"Mm. There might even be a parallel world where Koumi becomes a stray cat."
"Hey."
In the early evening streets of Shimokitazawa, the curly-haired boy stood in front of a vending machine, pulling out two cans of drinks. He clicked his tongue and shot an exasperated look over his shoulder at the blue-haired girl obediently holding out both hands, waiting to be fed. He'd been earnestly sharing his genuine thoughts just moments ago—only for her to casually ruin the mood with a single line.
And really, no matter how you looked at it, the shameless freeloader begging for food in front of him was far more cat-like. The kind of calico that committed all sorts of mischief while getting away with it by being cute.
"If I were a cat, the first thing I'd do is wreck your place completely."
"Nice. Free cat adoption, and I save some money too. Yay."
Yamada Ryō flashed a peace sign with a smile—though those vacant eyes of hers showed little change in emotion.
"But the possibility of Koumi becoming a cat is way lower than the possibility of Koumi becoming a bassist, so we'll rule that out first. Come be a bassist with me!"
"Hold on, bands usually only have one bassist, right? You're seriously asking me to compete with you for the spot?"
"Then sign a contract with me to learn bass! One day, we'll pack the venue wall to wall!"
"There are so many tropes in what you just said that I don't even know where to start criticizing. As compensation, your drink is mine now."
"Ah—how sly, Koumi…!"
What do you mean sly? You're drinking on my money anyway.
Narumi nimbly dodged Yamada Ryō's attempts to snatch back the canned coffee, the two of them walking one after the other toward the underground live house venue.
"Seriously, you won't reconsider, Koumi? I can teach you how to play bass. In return, you just have to treat me to meals. Pretty fair, right?"
"I knew it—you were after that. Do all bassists have personalities this questionable?"
When Yamada Ryō's rehearsal hadn't started yet, and Narumi Tōru's shift hadn't begun either, the two of them would occasionally come out like this to relax and kill time together.
Yamada Ryō—who normally arrived at the rehearsal room right on the dot (or sometimes overslept entirely)—would show up a good ten minutes early on days when the boy was working. Hardly anyone noticed this, but if her friend Ijichi Nijika ever did, she would surely smile gently and explain it like this:
"Ryō just wants to hang out with her friend a bit longer, that's all."
Having already chugged down nearly half of his canned coffee, the curly-haired boy walked ahead, taking quick steps until he reached the iron door outside the venue.
"By the way… I recently found a really hidden-gem music creator."
"Oh? How talented are they? Let me hear it."
"Mm, it's a masked girl on YouTube called Guitar Hero. I saw her latest fan song pop up on my homepage. Not sure if you've heard of her, Yamada."
"Hmm… doesn't ring a bell."
Fair enough. Even though Yamada played music too, that didn't mean she'd necessarily heard of the elusive Guitar Hero.
"So, how talented is she? Koumi, you really admire her guitar skills, huh?"
"Miss Yamada, I'm tone-deaf. Whether I admire it or not doesn't really matter. Besides, I already told you the channel name—go listen yourself."
Since Narumi was a student working part-time after school, he always arrived earlier than the other staff on his shifts. Because of that, Miss Ijichi had given him the password to the venue's electronic door lock.
Feeling more energized after the coffee, the boy rolled his shoulders, set the empty can on the nearby steps, and reached out to press the first digit of the keypad.
With a beep, another sound—one he hadn't expected—suddenly rang out.
[Beginning attribute roll—roll complete.]
…Huh?
Even as his mind went completely blank, Narumi couldn't stop his finger from instinctively pressing the next number.
They'd mentioned it before, sure—but did the simulation really start now?
Another beep, and once again, the system's ambush-style voice echoed out.
[Family Background: Much like how playing a reincarnation simulator often drops you in Africa, divorced families are a fairly common configuration in this land. This time, your starting conditions aren't much better than last time—but fortunately, the unemployed, perpetually drunk father who beat his wife and children ran off with the money before you were old enough to remember. …Uh, I suppose that counts as luck?]
Making it this realistic is some dark humor, System-kun.
[Misfortune Never Comes Alone: Unfortunately, you are not a child favored by the Goddess of Luck. Meeting benefactors, seizing a single opportunity to leap classes, casually buying a lottery ticket and hitting the jackpot—none of the above have anything to do with you.]
[Average Aptitude: You are neither a once-in-a-generation genius nor a hopeless fool doomed to fail. Living an ordinary, carefree life would be the most comfortable path. However, possessing aspirations far beyond your actual ability may bring you considerable suffering.]
I swear, is my luck just trash, or does this simulation game barely have any positive traits at all?
[Unyielding: As the saying goes, diligence can make up for lack of talent, and heaven rewards hard work. Though reality can be cruel at times, you believe that results born of effort are still richer than never trying at all.]
True enough. "Trying your best only to get nothing" isn't a reason not to try.
[Say One Thing, Mean Another: Compared to your previous emotionally detached trait, your emotions this time will be clearer and more resolute—but you'll find it difficult to express them honestly.]
"…What, so I'm the tsundere now?"
[Since you've already experienced one simulation, we'll skip the lengthy introduction. The above constitutes the basic information for this simulation. To ensure your experience doesn't become utterly unbearable, I will still appear to assist you when needed. However, take note—this simulation will differ from the first.]
[Predictable setups and identical character archetypes would surely bore you, so this time I've arranged several hidden settings. These will only surface as the story progresses and be recorded in your file; they will not be explained clearly at the outset.]
In short: keep a bit of mystery. Like watching ads to unlock loot boxes… wait, does that mean I can watch a 15-second ad to revive myself?
[Regrettably, even I would like to shorten my working hours—but that won't be happening. Besides, once you reach a death ending, it's game over.]
Hey, reading my mind is one thing, but do you really have to call me out like that… wait.
"Once I reach a death ending… it's game over?"